Shadows in the Dark
by addicted-2-oxygen
Summary: Jeb has just rescued the young Flock from the School, all the kids scared and frightened, all with issues that haven't yet been addressed. So when one of them has a nightmare, who will be there to comfort her? Who will really care? Rated T to be safe...


**Hey guys! This is just a short one-shot I dreamed about and decided to type up. I wasn't going to actually post this, but then my best friend ever (HeartfeltAngel) persuaded me to so... I guess this story should be dedicated to her! It's a one-shot for now, but if people really like it, I can expand it...**

**It takes place shortly after Jeb has busted them outta the School so (correct me if I'm wrong!) Max, Iggy and Fang are all 12, Nudge is 9 and the others... Meh, you can work those ages out yourself :)**

**I hope you like it!**

A scream broke through the quiet night, the girl it came from screaming and crying form the horrifically graphic nightmare. She sat straight up in bed, silent tears streaming down her smooth, nine year old face. A quick glance showed the other two bird-kids in her room had heard nothing of her dark and twisted nightmare, they were still sleeping soundly. She decided against waking them to comfort her, they were too young. Besides, she wasn't worth that much to anyone anyway.

Her feet padded down the hallway, breaking the terrible silence that was inching its way into every part of her mind. The silence that always found a way into her mind when she was alone.

A tiny shadow appeared in the doorway of Max's room. The shaking figure inched her way into the dark room, afraid of what might be lurking in the deep, dark shadows. Maximum rolled in her sleep, scaring the girl even more, making her jump back and freeze for a few seconds. The small girl, breathing heavily, took one look at the pile of blankets that was the twelve-year-old Maximum Ride, and fled. She was too much of a burden as it was, and besides, she knew she wasn't the favourite.

The silence was slowly pressing down on her as she peeked into the next bedroom. _Fang's_. The twelve-year-old bird-kid was sprawled out across his bed, his dark hair covering his sleeping face. She toyed with waking him, but then decided not to, he wouldn't want to be disturbed. Especially not by her. She waited for a while, just to make sure he was still breathing -experience had taught her not to just assume. She then ducked out of the dark room, fleeing from her nightmare that threatened to consume her once again.

A quick glance into Jeb's study showed that he had fallen asleep over him plans, again. The tiny shaking hands moved to push the door open more, but then paused. What if he got mad at her for waking her? What if her brought her back to the School? Her whole body racked with silent sobs, invisible hands shaking her over and over again. _Not the School, anywhere but there_.

She almost screamed aloud at the memories that came flooding back, pushing through the mental walls she had tried to put up to black them out. The girl backed away from the open door, stumbling into the dark hallway, almost fainting with the images that were playing behind her eyelids. Tears flooded down her smooth cheeks at even the thought of going back. She'd rather _die_. The silence was deafening, blocking out any possibility of noise, making the girl sink down to the floor in desperate fear, her mind racing in a thundering panic that blocked out any chance of logic.

At this point she was crouched in a ball, alone, in the dark hallway, her hand over her mouth to prevent terrified screams from spilling out. Because, she knew from experience, once the screams started, they never stopped. The silence was unbearable, pinning her to the ground like a butterfly to a wall, daring her to try and break it. She could move, paralyzed with despair, all her memories and nightmares spinning wildly around her like demented ghosts in the dark night.

A door creaked, making her small weak body tremble like a leaf with pure fear, and she tried to draw in shaky breaths, trying to get her fears under control. The girl tried to tell herself that ghosts weren't real, but then again, with her childhood, she could never be certain. One thing the whitecoats had made sure of, if they found one of her weaknesses, like silence, they would do whatever they could to maximize her fear of it.

_Locked up in a room. No light. No noise. Just silence. The small girl pulled against her restraints that held her to the wall, trying desperately to make some kind of noise. They had don't something to her hearing, blocked it out somehow. A scream erupted from her mouth, a terrified cry from a panicked girl. But no sound. She tried again and again to make any sort of noise, but still silence. When they finally, after what seemed like years but was actually only days, dumped her back with the other, she talked. Hearing the noise come out was such a relief that she kept talking, seeing the looks they gave one another but unable to stop. If the silence came back... it would destroy her._

Her memories clouded her mind, like a poisonous gas slowly working its way around her body, controlling her. The shadow was behind her now, it's lanky figure towering above her small one, it's hair standing up all over the place. She froze, unable to breathe past the fear that was clogging up her throat. The person took one step... and promptly tripped over her crouched figure, and fell, swearing loudly. She screamed a note of pure fear, letting all her fears and uncertainties' come alive in the dark night.

A hand was clapped over her mouth, a hand snaked around her body to stop her from running. The girl panicked and struggled to get free, trying to buck the older and stronger person off with all her strength. But then he did something that made her instantly relax, and all her fears faded away, as if someone had just wiped the slate clean. He spoke her name, shattering the silence in one word and breaking through her barrier of pain.

'Nudge.'

She started sobbing into his shirt, afraid he would leave and the darkness and silence would return. Afraid all the bad thoughts and nightmares would come rushing back. She buried her scared face into his shoulder and whimpered as he bundled her up into his arms and began the trek back to his room.

It was a miracle that they made it back in one piece, the boy's blind eyes unable to see the hidden dangers. But they did, and the boy just held the small girl in his arms as she cried away all her fears and sorrow, his wings wrapping around them for both protection and warmth. Finally her sobs ceased, and she turned her tear-stained face up to his concerned one, asking a confused question. 'B-but Iggy, how did you know I was out there, no one else heard...?'

The boy ran a hand through his scruffy strawberry blonde hair, his face scrunched up in thought, trying to come up with a somewhat logical answer.

'I guess I just hear you when nobody else did. I just... I was listening.'

**I hope that was mildly okay... Please review and tell me your thoughts, comments, suggestions... you get the picture! If people think it's worth it, I can continue it (somehow!), so let me know :)**

**addicted-2-oxygen **


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